


Of Scars and Unfinished Peonies

by madameseahorse



Series: A Day in the Life of Carla Jaeger [1]
Category: Attack on Titan
Genre: Family, Fluff, Manga Spoilers, Mother-Daughter Relationship, Slice of Life, Spoilers, Transitioning, titan Grisha, titan shifter village
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-12
Updated: 2015-02-12
Packaged: 2018-03-12 00:47:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3337979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/madameseahorse/pseuds/madameseahorse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How should you react to your husband bringing home an extra child that is, apparentally, your responsibility now? Never mind the ever-present threat of titans, famine, an angry son, and a strange husband who is often away. Maybe you will finally get the mom of the year award.<br/>A series of oneshots about Carla becoming Mikasa's foster mother and how they formed a strong bond in one short year.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of Scars and Unfinished Peonies

Carla heard the door open. She sat up with a start and looked around, slightly bewildered. It was early in the morning, and still dark outside. Grisha walked in, Eren holding one hand and another child holding the other.  
“Sorry to bother you, my love. We ran into some difficulties getting home.”  
Sleepily, she stood up and lit a lantern.  
“We should get everyone to bed.” She gasped, finally noticing the blood on their clothes.  
“Don’t worry: It isn’t any of ours.”  
She rolled her eyes.  
“I know it’s not yours,” she hissed.  
He shushed her.  
“What happened?”  
“I’ll explain everything in the morning,” he whispered, “but first things first. We need to get them cleaned up.”  
“I’ll run a bath,” she sighed, “and you will explain it to me now.”

Mikasa barely slept on the way to Shinganshina. She must have only dozed off for a few minutes when the carriage stopped at Dr. Jaeger’s house. Now, after coming in, she was wide-awake. She stared wide-eyed at Mrs. Jaeger. She looked so much like Eren. They had the same face and similar hair, but her eyes were brown instead of the intense green of her new brother.  
She must be my new mother, she thought bitterly.  
“I’m Mrs. Jaeger, but you can call me Carla, if you’d like.”  
She nodded, but did not take her hand.  
“Let’s get you cleaned up, alright?”  
Mikasa let her help take off her bloodstained nightgown. She shivered as the cold morning air hit her damp arms and legs. The scarf was a bit harder to get away from her. Carla had to promise to give it back after her bath.  
“Arms up.”  
Mikasa did and she gently pulled off her undershirt. However, as she reached to help her with her bloomers, Mikasa slapped her hand away.  
“Now, Mikasa. You can’t take a bath in your underwear.” She tried to not sound irritated. However, it was three-thirty in the morning. She woke from an uneasy sleep to find out that her son killed two men to rescue his new sister, who was to live with them now. Even if things were going well at the moment, food shortages still took place. Here was another mouth to feed, and she wouldn’t let Carla help her take a bath.  
Yeah, she was frustrated. Her frustration must have shown on her face.  
“I won’t take a bath then. You can’t make me. You’re not my mom,” she snapped.  
Carla’s facial expression softened. Of course. After the day Mikasa had, no wonder she felt like things were out of her control. Her parents were cut down in front of her. Then their murderers kidnapped her. God only knew what they told her. “We’re going to sell you to pedophiles who will own you until they kill you?” After watching Eren kill two of them and she the third, she had been taken from all that she knew to live with a family she did not know.  
“Alright. Take them off when you’re ready. I just hope the water is still hot when you do decide to get in.”  
She glared at her.  
“Give me all the dirty looks you want. Eren was practically born giving me dirty looks. I can do this all night.”  
Mikasa chewed on her lip, weighing her options.  
“You won’t laugh, will you?” she asked softly.  
Carla shook her head, confused.  
Reluctantly, she slid off her bloomers, trying and failing to cover her nakedness with her hand.

Mrs. Jaeger did not say anything about Mikasa not being a “real” girl. Instead, she washed her hair, marveling at how beautiful and shiny it was.  
“There. All clean. Oh.” Her eyes found where the gag cut into her lip.  
“I have some ointment for that. She took out a small tub from her husband’s bag.  
Mikasa winced. It stung.  
“Sorry, I know. It burns a little. Grisha makes it himself. I’m not sure what’s in it, but it heals really well. There won’t even be a scar. It should work on your hands, too.  
“Good.” Her hands were kind of beat up from being tied up gripping the knife. She held out her hands. Mrs. Jaeger applied the salve to the palms of her hands. She removed the now wet bandage from her wrist.  
Carla gasped. There were a series of wounds on the inside of the girl’s wrist. Most were had faded into scars. Some were very fresh, like the cut on her mouth. Grisha said the Ackermans kept to themselves. Could one of them done this to her?  
“It doesn’t need ointment. It will heal soon, like the rest,” she said nonchalantly.  
“What is it?”  
The ghost of a smile flickered to her face.  
“It is the symbol of my mother’s clan. Mom had the same symbol on her wrist, as did her parents and their parents, too. When I have children, I will give them the same mark.”  
Carla was abhorred.  
“This must have taken months to carve in.”  
“Two years. Mama…barely got to finish it,” she murmured, eyes glistening with unshed tears.  
She patted her shoulder somewhat awkwardly. There wasn’t much she could say. The “I’m so glad your mother finished scarring you before she was brutally murdered” line did not feel appropriate, even as it sat on the tip of her tongue.  
Then, again, she knew almost nothing about cultures. Shinganshina was hardly a melting pot. Nowhere in the Walls was culturally diverse. She was in no position to pass judgment on the Oriental or the people of her husband’s hometown (compared to the things that took place there, the latter made carving children with a clan symbol tame).  
So, she merely smiled and put the lid on the salve before putting the container away.  
“We’ll keep an eye on it. Don ‘t want it get infected.”  
“Okay.”  
Carla helped her put on a nightgown. It was soft and warm, like the scarf, with embroidery around one sleeve. There were loose strands of embroidery floss hanging from the poorly sewn pink flower.  
“It’s not done,” Mikasa stated softly, her fingers ghosting over the pink and green stitching.  
“I’ve never been very good at embroidery. I don’t seem to have the patience for it,” Carla replied sheepishly.  
“I can teach you,” the girl offered.  
Carla smiled.  
“I’d like that very much.”

**Author's Note:**

> For my bestie. She wanted a story about Mikasa and Carla's relationship, and a ftm Armin. As I wrote, the idea of a mtf Mikasa screamed to be included. I hope I did the idea justice. I don't know much about transitioning, but believe that Dr. Jaeger could and would help anyone feel right in their own skin (and, if he can turn his son into a titan, he should be able to perform a reassignment surgery). I will introduce Armin next time. Until then, happy birthday Rurrie! <3


End file.
